Hand tool for positioning slide fasteners in articles of manufacture



Nov. 24, 1959 I G. H. BINGHAM, JR HAND TOOL FOR POSITIONING SLIDE FASTENERS IN ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE Filed April 3, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ATT'YS.

Nov. 24, 1959 G. H. BINGHAM, JR HAND TOOL FOR POSITIONING SLIDE FASTENERS IN ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 3, 1958 INVENTOR.

Gear a AT T'YS.

United States Patent O M TOOL FoR POSITIONING SLlDE FASTEN- ERS IN ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE George H. Bin'gharii, In, Westminster, Md., assignor to Cambridge Rubber Company, Taneytown, Md., a cor- This invention pertains to the manufacture of waterproof footwear, in particular footwear in which a synthetic plastic is employed instead of rubber as the waterproofing material, and relates more especially to an appliance for use in securing a textile tape, for example, the tape of a conventional slide fastener to the upper of such an article of footwear.

In the co-pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 707,505,, filed by George H. Bingham, Jr., on January 7, 1958, there is disclosed a'novel method of securing such a textile tape to a plastic boot during the manufacture of the latter, and reference is made therein, in general terms, to an appliance for use in so securing the tape. The present invention has for an object the provision of a practicable appliance for use in the practice of the method disclosed in said co-pending application; to provide an appliance useful in securing the tapes of a slide fastener to a plastic boot upper before the plastic has been fully cured and, preferably, while the plastic is still in the form of a coating upon the inner surface of a hollow mold; to provide an appliance useful in securing a tape either to the curved forward portion of a boot upper or' to the substantially straight side portion of the upper; and, to provide an appliance having means for holding the tape in properly extended position while introducing it into the boot upper. A further object is to provide an appliance operative to hold a tape in proper contact with the inner surface of the upper of a plastic boot while the latter is being fused, that is to say, cured, so that the material of the boot is no longer tacky. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the present invention, showing the appliance as equipped to apply a tape to the curved forepart portion of the upper of a boot;

Fig, 2 is a section to larger scale on the line 2--2 of Fig.

Fig. 3 is a bottom View of the tape-contacting jaw of the appliance of Fig. 1, showing the jaw as separated from the other parts of the device;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section to larger scale on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section to larger scale on the line 55 of Pi 1;

i'ig. 6 is a side elevation of a jaw for use in applying a tape to the substantially straight side portion of a boot upper, the jaw being shown separate from the rest of the appliance; v

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the jaw shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation, partially in vertical section and partially broken away, showing the appliance of Fig. 1 in position for holding a tape against the inner surface of the upper of a boot during the curing opera- Patented Nov. 24, 1959 ICE Fig. 10 is a view, to larger scale, of the jaw shown in Fig. 8, with the tapes of a slide fastener mounted on its undersurface in readiness to be applied to a boot p Fig. 11 is a section on the line 1111 of Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic transverse section through a slide fastener having a gusset attached thereto.

Referring to the drawings and in particular Fig. 9, the numeral 20 designates a hollow boot mold such as is employed in the manufacture of plastic boots by the slush-molding method or a modification thereof, during which 'a coating 21 of plastic is deposited upon the interior surface of the mold, such coating in the dried but unfused state being herein referred to as an embryo boot. It is at this stage that it is preferable to secure to the interior of the boot a textile tape such, for example, as a re-inforcing tape or, in particular, the tapes of a conventional slide fastener. In Fig. 9, a member 22, herein referred to as a blade, is shown as disposed within'the embryo boot and in position to hold the tapes of a slide fastener in contact with the inner surface of the embryo boot during the period in which the embryo boot is being fused, while still within the mold, an operation which results in permanently securing the tapes of the slide fastener to the material of the boot.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, inclusively, the blade 22 which, as above noted, supports the tapes of the slide fastener while introducing them into the boot and locating them at the proper position and which holds them in contact with the material of the boot during the fusion of the latter comprises a rigid body portion 24, for example of aluminum or other suitable metal, provided at that side which contacts the tapes with a layer 25 of resiliently yieldable material, for instance sponge rubber. Desirably, the blade 22 is provided with an elongate slot 26 extending throughout the major portion of its length and which is of a width, desirably, slightly exceeding-the Width of the interlocking series of metallic fastener units of the slide fastener and which is of a length at least as great as the total length of the interlocking series of units and which thus permits the metallic units to retreat away from the tapecontacting face of the blade when pressure is applied. This slot also provides for the accommodation of the gusset which may be attached to the slide fastener before the fastener is to be secured to a boot. Desirably, the blade is also provided with a recess 27 of a width somewhat greater than that of the slot 26 and of such dimensions lengthwise as to permit the slider of the slide fastener to retreat from the tape-contacting surface of the layer 25, when subjected to pressure, so that those portions of the tape which lie at opposite sides of the slider, as well as other portions of the tape, may be brought into firm contact with the interior of the boot. Because the appliance, according to the present invention, is intended for use in applying the tapes of a slide fastener either to the front portion of the boot upper or to the side portion of the boot upper, it is designed to employ interchangeable blades. With this in view, the blade 22, shown in Figs. 1 and 3, is pro vided at one end With an integral tang 28 for use in removably securing to the device 23 by means of which the blade is held in the operative position shown in" Fig. 9. Desirably, the blade is provided with means for temporarily securing the tapes thereto, thus to facili tate their introduction into the interior of the boot.

One such means is indicated in Fig. 3 as comprising opposite end of the blade. However, it is contemplated that other means may be employed for temporarily holding the tapes in position on the blade, for example the blade may be provided with a tacky layer of that type of the material commonly known as Scotch tape.

The device 23, by means of which the blade is held in operative position during use, is here illustrated (Fig. 1) as a plier-like tool comprising jaws 31 and 32 which are pivotally connected by means of a pivot pin 33 and which are provided with handles 34 and 35, respectively, by means of which the jaws may be swung away from each other. The jaws are normally urged toward each other by a coiled spring 36 which embraces the pivot pin 33 and whose opposite ends are received in cavities in the respective handles. The jaw 31 is provided with 'a socket portion 37 of dimensions to receive the tang 28 of the blade with a sliding fit and, for holding the tang within the socket, a suitable set screw 39 or equivalent means is provided. The other jaw 32 of the tool 23 has a stiffiy resilient extension 40 (Fig. 1) whose free end portion 41 is desirably located substantially opposite to the mid-portion of the length of the blade 22. To this free end portion 41 of the extension 40, there is fixed a contact shoe or pad 42, desirably having spaced contact surfaces 43 (Fig. 4) which, when the device is in use, contact the outer surface of the mold 20 at points spaced approximately equal distances from the front center line of the mold.

In using this device, the tapes T, T (Figs. and 11) of the slide fastener are arranged to overlie and contact the cushioning layer 25 at opposite sides of the slot 26 of the blade, with the interlocked series of metallic units U, U disposed above and in registry with the slot 26 and with the slider S disposed in registry with the recess 27. It may be assumed that the tang 28 has already been arranged within the socket 37 of the pressure-applying tool 23 and the operator now, by applying pressure to the handles 34 and 35, spreads the jaws apart thus moving the pad 42 away from the blade 22 and the latter is now introduced into the interior of the embryo boot, as shown in Fig. 9, carrying with it the tapes of the slide fastener. Desirably, the mold 20 is provided at its interior with 'a projection (not shown) to limit the downward movement of the blade 22 and thus to insure the proper location of the slide fastener relatively to the boot top. The handles 34 and 35 are now released and the spring 36 causes the pad or shoe 43 to bear against the outer surface of the mold and, at the same time, urges the blade 22 toward the inner surface of the embryo boot with pressure such as to contact the outer surfaces of the fastener tapes firmly with the inner surface of the embryo boot. Usually, the exposed surfaces of the tapes will have been provided with one or more coatings of an adhesive of a type which is compatible with the plastic of the boot top sothat, when the assembly is subjected to a suitable degree of heat, the tapes will be firmly and substantially integrally joined to the material of the embryo boot. It may beunderstood that the device 23, with the blade 22, will be left in the position of Fig. 9 during the usual fusing operation which results in a complete curing of the layer 21, after which the appliance is withdrawn from the boot and the boot is completed in accordance with any desired customary procedures.

If the slide fastener has a gusset attached thereto, as shown in Fig. 12, wherein the tapes of the slide fastener are indicated at T and T and the gusset at G, the gusset will be folded and threaded through the slot 26 in the blade before the appliance is arranged in the position of Fig. 9. In this way, the presence of the gusset does not in any way interfere with the proper contact of the tapes with the interior of the boot upper.

'If the slide fastener is to be attached to the side of the bootinstead of the front, a blade, such asshown-in shown in Fig. 1. This straight blade 22 is, in general, similar to the blade 22 except that it is rectilinear, the cushioning layer 25 being substantially flat and thus operative to support the extended tapes with the exposed surfaces of the tapes in a plane and thus positioned to contact the substantially straight inner surface of the boot top at the side of the latter while pressure is being applied in the same way as above described with reference to the curved blade of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 11, the parts are shown in the position which they would occupy while the tapes are being pressed against the inner surface of the embryo boot, although the latter is not shown, but, it will be observed that the slider S has been permitted to retreat into the cavity 27 so that it does not interfere with the contact of the tapes T and T which are disposed in the same plane, with the interior of the boot.

The term boot has herein been employed for convenience, and without limity intent as inclusive of any article of footwear whose upper is of or comprises an inner layer or ply of plastic.

While but two blades 22 and 22 have here been illustrated, it is obvious that blades of any desired length and degree of curvature may be employed according to the character of the surface to which the tapes are to be adhered.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have herein been disclosed by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An appliance for use in securing an adhesively coated tape to the interior of a waterproof boot, said appliance comprising a plier-like tool having a pair of pivotally connected jaws, spring means urging said jaws toward each other, and handles whereby said jaws may be moved away from each other, an elongated blade attached to one of said jaws, said blade having a tapecontacting surface of a size and shape to constitute a support for the tape while the latter is in fully extended condition, with its adhesively coated surface opposed to the inner surface of the boot, a pad carried by the other jaw and which, when the appliance is in use, is located at the exterior of the boot and opposite to said blade, whereby the force exerted by the spring means is operative to press a coated surface of the tape against the inner surface of the boot.

2. An appliance according to claim 1, wherein the tape contacting surface of the blade is concavely curved substantially to conform to the curvature of the inner surface of the front portion of the upper of the boot.

3. An appliance according to claim 1, wherein the tape contacting surface of the blade is substantially rectilinear, thereby substantially to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the side portion of the upper of the boot.

4. A11 appliance according to claim 1, wherein the blade comprises a rigid body portion and a'resiliently yieldable layer attached to the body portion for contact with the tape.

'5. An appliance according to claim 1, wherein the blade is of a width to form a support for both tapes of a conventional slide fastener and is provided with a cavity into which the slider of the fastener may retreatwhile the tapes are being'pressed into contact with the inner surface of the boot.

6. An appliance according to claim 1 wherein the blade has a longitudinally extending slot midway between its lateral edges through which a gusset, attached to the tapes of a slide fastener, may project while the tapes are being pressed into contact with the inner surface of the boot.

7.-An appliance according to claim 6, wherein the slot in the blade is of a width to receive the interengaged fastener units of the slide fastener.

8. An appliance according to claim 1, wherein one jaw has a socket for the reception of one end portion of the tape supporting blade and the other jaw is of a length such that the pad carried thereby is located substantially opposite to the center of length of the blade.

9. An appliance for use in securing the tapes of a conventional slide fastener to the interior of an embryo plastic boot while the boot is at that stage of its manufacture at which it consists of a dried, but unfused coating of plastic forming a lining for the cavity of a boot mold, said appliance comprising an elongated blade having a tape-contacting surface of a size and shape to constitute a support for the tapes of the fastener while the latter is in fully extended condition, means operative temporarily to attach the tapes to the blade while the tapes are being introduced into the interior of the embryo boot, and means for urging the blade toward the inner surface of the embryo hoot comprising a plier-like device having pivotally connected jaws and spring means urging said jaws toward each other, means for attaching one end of the blade to one of said jaws, the other jaw having an extension of a length such that its free end is located near the center of length of the blade, and a contact pad fixed to the free end of said extension and which is designed, when the device is in use, to engage the outer surface of the mold.

10. An appliance according to claim 9, wherein the means for attaching the blade to the jaw of the plier-like device comprises a tang at one end of the blade, means providing a tang-receiving socket in said jaw, and means for releasably securing the tang in the socket.

11. An appliance according to claim 9, wherein the extension of said other jaw of the plier-like device is resilient, whereby the contact pad at its end engages the outer surface of the mold with yielding pressure.

12. An appliance for use in securing the tapes of a conventional slide fastener to the interior of an embryo plastic boot while the boot is at that stage of its manufacture at which it consists of a dried, but unfused coating of plastic forming a lining for the cavity of a boot mold, said appliance comprising a support to which the tapes of the fastener may be temporarily attached and which holds the tapes fully extended, and means operative resiliently to urge said support toward the inner surface of the embryo boot, thereby to press the tapes into contact with said inner surface and to hold the parts so assembled while the plastic forming the embryo boot is being fused.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 106,655 Germany Nov. 18, 1899 

